Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Daily Sketch Reprise: Here in the Shadows, 2013

pastel sketch of cat
“Here in the Shadows”, pastel on pastello paper, 7.5″ x 11″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

A very good place to be on a hot day. Jelly Bean is in the shadows behind the curtain, dozing on top of the wardrobe by the open window. He was really the only part I was interested in, his deep blackness with the few intense highlights defining a few features. It’s how I see him when he sleeps there. Pastel carries this off so well, even the texture of the paper.

. . . . . . .

Over the year I’ve grown to like this simple pastel more and more. The simple shapes in the shadowed warm amber tones of a hot summer afternoon with the blinds pulled halfway, the way the natural texture of the paper became the pattern of the lace curtain, Jelly Bean’s fur, dense black in the shadows but with its natural red velvet cake tones in the mid-range, the highlight on his face and whiskers, and the reflection in the mirror, softened, blurred, natural. It’s one of those I look at later and think, “I don’t remember doing that, as I walked right past my logical mind choosing colors and planning how I’d put the pastel on the paper to my intuitive mind that just went ahead and did what it pleased.

All that comes with practice, and again it’s one of the reasons I am glad for my daily sketches, even if I don’t do them each day; right now I’m working on other art that you’ll see at some point.


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Petties 2014
Petties 2014

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Click here to see other daily sketches.

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Read about the reason for the daily sketches in Two Years of Daily Sketches.

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“Garden with Mimi” desktop calendar

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

5 thoughts on “Daily Sketch Reprise: Here in the Shadows, 2013

  • I really love this piece – I keep coming back to it! Thank you for creating and sharing…

    Reply
    • Thank you, Tracy–I’m very complimented! I may use it for my August desktop calendar, it was in the running for July.

      Reply
  • Just today I saw my Tuxedo Boots in the back porch with those same red streaks running down his back.

    Reply
  • Kitty Cat Chronicles

    Beautiful!

    Reply

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